CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Central Michigan

8–⁠6 (6–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Butch Jones.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2007, game by game: lost at Kansas 7–52; won vs. Toledo 52–31; lost at Purdue 22–45; lost vs. North Dakota State 14–44; won vs. Northern Illinois 35–10; won at Ball State 58–38; won vs. Army 47–23; lost at Clemson 14–70; won at Kent State 41–32; won at Western Michigan 34–31; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 45–48; won at Akron 35–32; won vs. Miami (OH) 35–10; lost vs. Purdue 48–51+25−56Lost 7–52 at Kansas-45KansasWon 52–31 vs. Toledo+21ToledoLost 22–45 at Purdue-23PurdueLost 14–44 vs. North Dakota State-30North Dakota St…Won 35–10 vs. Northern Illinois+25Northern Illino…Won 58–38 at Ball State+20Ball StateWon 47–23 vs. Army+24ArmyLost 14–70 at Clemson-56ClemsonWon 41–32 at Kent State+9Kent StateWon 34–31 at Western Michigan+3Western MichiganLost 45–48 vs. Eastern Michigan-3Eastern MichiganWon 35–32 at Akron+3AkronWon 35–10 vs. Miami (OH)+25Miami (OH)Lost 48–51 vs. Purdue-3Purdue
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atKansasL 7–⁠5249%
Sep 8vsToledoW 52–⁠3169%
Sep 15atPurdueL 22–⁠4540%
Sep 22vsNorth Dakota StateL 14–⁠4472%
Sep 29vsNorthern IllinoisW 35–⁠1057%
Oct 6atBall StateW 58–⁠3841%
Oct 13vsArmyW 47–⁠2378%
Oct 20atClemsonL 14–⁠7037%
Oct 27atKent StateW 41–⁠3259%
Nov 6atWestern MichiganW 34–⁠3156%
Nov 16vsEastern MichiganL 45–⁠4885%
Nov 23atAkronW 35–⁠3263%
Dec 1vsMiami (OH)Mid-American Championship GameW 35–⁠1067%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsPurdueMotor City BowlL 48–⁠5151%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Purdue 51–⁠48 in the Motor City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
487–⁠517
Coach
Butch Jones
Elo
1536 −30 this season
SP+ rating
-10.6 No. 86 of 120; offense No. 52, defense No. 107, special teams No. 95
SRS
−4.3 No. 75 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 106
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 119
  • Defense72nd of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0846%0.9028th of 119
Defense0.0544%0.8772nd of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 312% allowed
Defense-0.1own 333% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2007 class

Taylor Bradley WR★★★No. 1108
Johnnie Daniels RB★★★No. 1162
J.J. Watt SDE★★★No. 1342
Nick Bellore ATH★★No. 1552
Eric McLaughlin S★★No. 1568

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.813
Receivers32.30.755
Offensive line12.00.722
Defensive line22.50.760
Linebackers22.00.722
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.771
Whole class112.30.755

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2007 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠18–⁠6
Bowling Green6–⁠28–⁠5
Ball State5–⁠27–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠26–⁠7
Buffalo5–⁠35–⁠7
Ohio4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠44–⁠8
Western Michigan3–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠44–⁠8
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron3–⁠54–⁠8
Northern Illinois1–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠73–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.